him permission for this and, taking surety of him for his return, gave him a purse, wherein were a thousand gold dinars.  Accordingly, the merchant embarked in a ship and set sail, intending for his mother-land.  On such wise fared it with the trader; but as regards his wife, news had reached her that her husband had accepted service with King Such-an-one; so she arose and taking her two sons (for she had borne twins in his absence), set out seeking those parts.  As Fate would have it, they happened upon an island, and her husband came thither that very night in the ship.  So the woman said to her children, “The ship cometh from the country where your father is:  hie ye to the sea-shore, that ye may enquire of him.”  Accordingly, they repaired to the sea-shore and going up into the ship, fell to playing about it and busied themselves with their play till evening evened.  Now the merchant their sire lay asleep in the ship, and the noisy disport of the boys troubled him; whereupon he rose to call out to them “Silence” and let the purse with the thousand dinars fall among the bales of merchandise.  He sought for it and finding it not, buffeted his head and seized upon the boys, saying, “None took the purse but you:  ye were playing all about the bales, so ye might steal somewhat, and there was none here but you twain.”  Then he took his staff, and laying hold of the children, fell to beating them and flogging them, whilst they wept, and the crew came round about them saying, “The boys of this island are all rogues and robbers.”  Then, of the greatness of the merchant’s anger, he swore an oath that, except they brought out the purse, he would drown them in the sea; so when by reason of their denial his oath demanded the deed, he took the two boys and binding them each to a bundle of reeds, cast them into the water.  Presently, finding that they tarried from her, the mother of the two boys went searching for them, till she came to the ship and fell to saying,"Who hath seen two boys of mine?  Their fashion is so and so and their age thus and thus.”  When the crew heard her words, they said, “This is the description of the two boys who were drowned in the sea but now.”  Their mother hearing this began calling on them and crying, “Alas, my anguish for your loss, O my sons!  Where was the eye of your father this day, that it might have seen you?” Then one of the sailors asked her, “Whose wife art thou?” and she answered, “I am the wife of Such-an-one the trader.  I was on my way to him, and there hath befallen me this calamity.”  When the merchant heard her words, he knew her and rising to his feet, rent his raiment and beat his head and said to his wife, “By Allah, I have destroyed my children with mine own hand!  This is the end of whoso looketh not to the endings of affairs.  This is his reward who taketh not time to reflect.”  Then he took to wailing and weeping over them, he and his wife, and he said to his shipmates, “By Allah, I shall never enjoy my life, till I light upon